Written by Staff Writer- Blog Events Now

African American’s have always been at the mercy of every Cannabis law because most times when Cannabis is mentioned, a black person is inevitably involved one way or the other. Several years have passed and nothing has changed much.

This is where Generational Equity Movement came in. A lot of states in the U.S have begun seeing the good sides of Cannabis and have even endorsed it but it’s sad to see that Washington, DC is not among those states. This cause birthed The Generational Equity Movement.

The organization is a coalition led by five Black-owned cannabis businesses in Washington, DC. The voiceless need a voice and we have taken up the role of being the voice for Black, millennial business owners who make up a meaningful segment of the local I-71 market.

The GEM Coalition supports a strong, safe, and the regulated cannabis industry in the District. The Generational Equity Movement Coalition has worked hard to expand safe access to cannabis, employing DC residents, and operate within the uncertain confines of the law, aka “the gray.”

According to the National Institutes of Health, people have used marijuana, or cannabis for several purposes. This use has dated as far as 3,000 years ago. Even with this evidence, the Food and Drug Administration has not deemed cannabis safe or effective in the treatment of any medical condition. Just recently, cannabidiol, a substance that is present in cannabis, received approval as a treatment for some types of epilepsy in some states.

It’s time the health practitioners look into the positive influences of the use of Cannabis and implement it into medicine officially.

The Generational Equity Movement has always been a strong believer that DC gets to benefit from the law reformation as business owners gain access to capital to fund their business. It is high time that DC acknowledged the positive impact of the Cannabis business on the economy by looking at the G.P of other states who have openly legalized Cannabis.

It’s high time the Mayor and DC City Council reconsider and pass a new bill that will focus on equity and the priority on Black ownership in the cannabis industry. The impact of Black people in the cannabis industry can not be neglected. Year in and out, they have always explored ways that will increase the ROI of Cannabis right from cultivating, processing, and selling this product.

At this point, if we study the proposed business model of the Council and Mayor, they want to create barriers to equity for our community and a barrier to entry into the industry we, the black, are helping to build. They want to make recreational cannabis legal their way. All of these shut down our businesses overnight.

The Generational Equity Movement knows the opportunities related to growing, processing, and retail cannabis are already an incredible reach for minority business owners – especially for the millennial generation. We will not sit back and watch all of these taken away from us. We need to lend our voice and keep fighting for what is our right. We will not lose an opportunity because of racial segregation.

In regards to this, last year, the organization had “Egg Nog and Equity” where they discussed and enlightened people on the future of recreational marijuana and how we can build an industry based on equity. This year, they held an amazing and educational event, which had showcase their documentary of why they are pushing forward with their mission. Held at the ANGELIKA POP-UP in Union Market, the event had local Washington, DC Metropolitan media coverage, community builders, as well as, their Q&A segment towards the end of their documentary.

The event was held on March 31st, 2022. Visit their website here to get the necessary information regarding this topic.

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